Female football fans who donned fake beards and wigs to attend a major match in Iran in defiance of a ban on women spectators were hailed as fearless by activists on Monday. Photos and video of the fans sitting in Tehran's Azadi Stadium disguised as men as they watched their team Persepolis crowned champions on Friday have gone viral on social media. The Islamic Republic has long barred women from attending male soccer matches and other sports fixtures, based at least partly on the theory that women should not hear fans swear.